1. Field Of The Invention
This invention relates generally to electrical connectors, and more particularly to housings for holding electrical connectors to facilitate connecting and disconnecting the connectors.
2. Background Of The Prior Art
In the prior art there are many types of electrical connectors and many types of connector housings to contain and protect the connectors. Typically, such connector housings are fastened together with adhesives, screws, clips, or other fastening means. The connector housings have a cable inlet opening by which the wires of a cable enter the connector housing and are connected to wiring terminals of a connector therein. The male or female mating terminals of such connectors protrude from the interior of an assembled connector housing to facilitate connecting a male connector within one connector housing to a female connector within another connector housing.
In the prior art, some connector housings have latching means that are used to securely latch a connector housing containing a first connector with either another connector housing containing mating connector, or to a chassis or panel to which a mating connector is fastened. Examples of prior art latching means are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,824,525 and 4,575,174, published U.K. Patent application Nos. 2,042,827, and 2,088,150 and U.K. Pat. No. 1,196,099. The latching means help prevent mated connectors from inadvertently disconnecting due to factors such as vibration or a cable being accidentally pulled. Examples of such prior art latching means are screws and nuts, wire straps, and flexible latching arms that are either molded as a part of the connector housing or are attached thereto. However, these prior art connector housings and fastening means have limited applications and require tools to assemble and disassemble them.
Thus, there is a need in the art for an electrical connector housing that may lie quickly and easily assembled and disassembled without the need for tools, that may latch with other connector housings or latch to chassis or panel mounted connectors or to a panel and still allow another connector housing to be latched to it, or that may latch to industry standard iso-blocks. And, when it is required to latch the connector housing to other than standard latching arrangements, there is a need that the latching arms may quickly and easily be changed without the need for tools.